Andy Harris

Harris's father was Zoltán Harris, an anesthesiologist who was born in Miskolc, Hungary, in 1911 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1950; his mother, Irene (Koczerzuk), was born in Zarice, Poland.

Harris was born in New York, grew up in Queens, and attended Regis High School in Manhattan.

It had been in Republican hands for all but 14 years since 1947, although Kratovil received a significant boost when Gilchrest endorsed him.

On election night, Kratovil led Harris by 915 votes.

After two rounds of counting absentee ballots, Kratovil's lead grew to 2,000 votes.

Forecasting that there was little chance for Harris to close the gap, most media outlets declared Kratovil the winner on the night of November 7.

Harris conceded on November 11.

Harris dominated his longtime base in Baltimore's heavily Republican eastern suburbs, which account for most of the district's share of Baltimore County, but failed to carry a single county on the Eastern Shore.

Andrew Peter Harris (born January 25, 1957) is an American politician and physician serving as the U.S. representative for MD's 1st congressional district since 2011.

The district includes the entire Eastern Shore, as well as several eastern exurbs of Baltimore.

He is the only Republican member of Maryland's congressional delegation.

Harris previously served in the Maryland Senate.

Harris earned his BS in biology (1977) and his MD (1980) from Johns Hopkins University.

Harris also served as commanding officer for the Johns Hopkins Naval Reserve Medical Unit from 1989 to 1992.

The university's Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health conferred his MHS in 1995 in health policy and management and health finance and management.

Harris served in the Navy Medical Corps and the U.S. Naval Reserve as a lieutenant commander on active duty during Operation Desert Storm.

He previously worked as an anesthesiologist, an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, and as chief of obstetric anesthesiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Harris was first elected to the Maryland Senate in 1998 for District 9, including part of Baltimore County.

He defeated his predecessor, Minority Leader F. Vernon Boozer, in the 1998 primary election.

A major factor in the race was Boozer's role in derailing an attempt to ban partial-birth abortion a year earlier; the bill's sponsor, fellow state senator Larry Haines, supported Harris's primary bid.

In the general election he defeated Democratic nominee Anthony O. Blades.

Harris's district was later redrawn to be District 7, representing parts of Harford County, succeeding Norman Stone.

In August 2001, following speculation that U.S. Representative Bob Ehrlich would run for governor of Maryland in 2002, Harris formed an exploratory committee to explore a potential run for Congress in Maryland's 2nd congressional district.

He ultimately decided against running.

Harris defeated incumbent Republican Wayne Gilchrest and State Senator E. J. Pipkin in the Republican primary for Maryland's 1st congressional district.

Harris ran well to the right of Gilchrest, a moderate Republican.

He explained that he was upset with Gilchrest's decision to support a Democrat-sponsored bill setting a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq and suspected that many of his constituents also felt that way.

He was endorsed by the Club for Growth, which raised nearly $250,000 for him, former governor Bob Ehrlich, seven of 10 state senators who represent parts of the district, and House Minority Leader Anthony O'Donnell.

His general election opponent, Queen Anne's County State's Attorney Frank Kratovil, criticized the Club for Growth's policies, and Harris for having its support.

Gilchrest endorsed Kratovil.

On paper, Harris had a strong advantage in the general election due to its Republican lean.

Although Democrats and Republicans are nearly tied in registration, the district has a strong tinge of social conservatism that favors Republicans.

He defeated Democratic nominee Diane DeCarlo in the general election in 2002, and from 2003 to 2006 served as the minority whip.

He was reelected in 2006, defeating Patricia A. Foerster.

He was succeeded by J. B. Jennings.

Harris ran again in the 1st District in 2010.

He defeated Rob Fisher, a conservative businessman, in the primary.

Harris's primary win set up a rematch against Kratovil.

Libertarian Richard James Davis and Independent Jack Wilson also ran.

In the November 2 general election, Harris defeated Kratovil by 14%.